Royal Dutch Shell has said its subsidiaries in Nigeria paid $6.397bn to the Nigerian Government and its agencies last year, compared to $4.322bn in 2017 and $3.638bn in 2016.
The oil giant disclosed this in its ‘2018 Payments to Governments Report’, which was released on Tuesday.
The report showed that Nigeria’s revenue from Shell was the highest out of the 34 countries to which it made payments last year.
It revealed that Shell companies paid $3.776bn to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as production entitlement while $1.286bn was paid in taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The oil major said $1.253 went to the Department of Petroleum Resources for royalties and fees, while $81.5m was remitted to the Niger Delta Development Commission.
Other reports released by the oil giant on Tuesday included Shell Sustainability Report and Industry Associations Climate Review.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell, Ben Van Beurden, said, “Shell must remain at the forefront of the drive for greater corporate transparency. We will continue to be more open about what we do and why we do it.
“We want to help people better understand Shell’s performance, values and principles. These reports outline our approach and activities in the crucial areas of sustainability and our relationships with industry associations and governments.”
The Managing Director, Shell Production Development Company of Nigeria Limited, and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, described the reports as a further testament to Shell’s efforts to increase transparency around activities that were important to investors, governments and civil society.
“We are irrevocably committed to transparency just as we are to business integrity part of our core values and central tenets of the Business Principles that govern the way we do business,” he said.
Shell, in its sustainability report, said security issues, sabotage and crude oil theft in the Niger Delta remained significant challenges in 2018.
“Shell companies there continued to address safety and environmental challenges related to illegal activities and operational spills. Although there has been no major damage to key oil and gas infrastructure caused by militant activity since November 2016, the security situation remains volatile in this region of the country,” it added.